


Can We Talk?

by BubblyFurnace



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Angst, Background Relationships, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Late Night Conversations, M/M, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-02
Updated: 2019-11-02
Packaged: 2021-01-20 19:58:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21287342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BubblyFurnace/pseuds/BubblyFurnace
Summary: It's hard to sleep after the Promare left. The silence is deafening and too heavy too ignore. Luckily for Lio, Galo is here to talk through some emotions with him and offer support and guidance. It helps fill that silence and let him finally get a good night's rest.
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 2
Kudos: 77





	Can We Talk?

**Author's Note:**

> Hey yall, I haven't actually written a fic I've posted before so this is a first! Just a short one since I tend to find it easier to write stuff like this atm?? Hope you enjoy :00
> 
> I just couldn't get this cute idea out of my head..also I haven't even. Actually watched Promare yet but I'm already addicted so like if anything sounds wrong that's why,, (Don't worry I got 2 tickets booked).
> 
> Anyway, Enjoy!

______________________________________________

Can we talk?

______________________________________________

It'd been at least 6 months now since the Promare had left. 6 Months of building, treacherously long days and 6 months of silence. Or at least 6 months of an eerie quiet inside the minds of all the now Ex-burnish. 

It was hard.

Lio couldn't pretend that wasn't the case. Or rather he did pretend. He refused to let too many of his weaknesses show, not wanting to make anyone worry for him when there was so much more that needed to be worried about these days. So many families had lost those closest to them and so many lives had been flipped on their heads. These days were about getting by, taking each day in stride and moving on past it to the next. Sure there was hopes for the future, dreams and plans that people want to come to fruition but those were mostly in the back of people's minds for now, only slipping out when they lay awake at night. The silence in their head letting them finally wonder what the future holds, and where they'll end up.

Lio was no excuse. Nights were..hard. Infact if he could avoid it he would entirely, if he could go a day without having to lie down and just stay there with his thoughts.. He would. Galo knows he would too. Lios behaviour about sleep gave it away all too easily. It'd only been a month since they'd confessed to eachother, in a sudden moment of heartfelt emotion after a particularly hard mission, where they suddenly felt like it had to be said sooner rather than later. And something about the moment made it so..both felt the same way, at the same time. (Corny really). Of course this wasn't to say they hadn't been close beforehand, heck as soon as the initial event was over Galo had very enthusiastialy gotten Lio to live with him. Demanding that he have a comfy place to sleep where he could let himself relax (not that lio took him up on that all too often). 

At first Lio took the couch, refusing to sleep in Galos bed since staying was more than enough for him. But after the first few weeks of nearly sleepless nights, due to the newly uncomfortable chill and the need to hear something..to have something; anything to keep him grounded. He gave in and quietly asked to stay with him. And as Galo always did he accepted Lio happily with open arms and for the first time in a while, he actually got some sleep. It was..refreshing. 

Unfortunately, healing takes time. Lio wishes healing was just a thing he could do at a moments notice, like he always used to but this was..new. This kind of healing was mental, and it had to be done slowly, that's what everyone told him anyway. He had taken Galo up on speaking to a therapist and had to admit it..sort of helped. Galo doing his best by even finding an Ex-burnish therapist for him, wanting to make sure Lio had someone he could really talk to who understood him. Galo always listened but he couldn't fully empathise and he knew this, so he found the next best thing.

Lio was still in the process of healing. He knew that. But as he lay awake tonight he couldn't help but get upset. He had done so much over the past 6 months , mostly for others but also, for the first time..for himself. And he was frustrated that tonight he could hear the silence more than anything. That even whilst he buried his face against Galos ever warm chest, he could only focus on the deep, empty feeling in his chest. The silence was both too little and too much all at once. He felt too empty, but also too full. Full of an aching horrible pain that he knew would get better, but wasn't right now. And it was just too much. He so badly wanted to have something to ground him again, to stop him thinking. Since thinking never went anywhere good for him, either to the faces he lost, the things he hasn't accomplished yet or to the fact..he's cold. And in his head, he's alone.

It takes a few shakes to wake Galo up, after all the Fire fighter was a heavy sleeper. Hitting his bed like a brick the moment he could finally get some rest. And Lio felt bad waking him up but he just..couldn't be alone right now. So once he'd woken his boyfriend he offered an apologetic gaze, looking up from his hideaway spot on the man's chest.

"Hmnn.. Li?.. What is it?...You uh need somethin'?" Galo yawned between his words and rubbed at the sleep in his eyes for a moment, before pulling Lio in closer and giving him one of his famous sleepy grins, which showed the same amount of love as it did concern at this time.

"Sorry for waking you-..I uh-..I just, was thinking too much again..I can't seem to sleep" He was starting to get used to admitting things to Galo, it took a while at first , to learn to be vulnerable but he was making progress and was able to tell Galo if something upset him now. 

"Ah I see..is it the uhhh...quietness again? You said it was kinda weird before.."

"Yes it's uhm..It's sort of that. I don't want to bother you for too long but I know it's.. easier to fall asleep when I know your awake and I can..listen to you?" He grimaced at his words and wondered if it was the right way to phrase it or not. Unsure of if that came across too cheesy for how he felt about the situation. Lucky for him Galo was good at reading his moods and just offered a warm, caring smile. So warm infact that Lio immediately felt a wave of ease wash over him.

"That's alright then..We can work with that. Dont you worry Li, I'll keep up with you long as you need, even if you don't wanna bother me. Do you...wanna get some thoughts off your mind? That's what Kiki said might help right?"

Kiki was Lios therapist. A sweet lady who so far had been a very big help for how little time they've been talking.

"Yes she said that might help but uhm..I don't know. I'm not sure where to start with it? It does feel a little weird to be waking you up to immediately talk about why I'm acting weird"

"Aw c'mon, your not acting weird Li. And you know I don't mind helpin however I can, I'm glad you woke me up, means I can help out with my burning soul" Galo knows this never fails to get a grin from Lio, even if it's accompanied by a roll of the eyes. He decides to add to this by leaning down to place a soft kiss on Lios forehead, before helping him unwind more by stroking some fingers through Lios light green locks. 

The smaller man hummed lightly and nuzzled his head into Galos hand, thankful for the way it helped to ground him. 

After another few seconds of thought he let out a breath, then cuddled up to Galo just so he could avoid his gaze. For now, at least, it was easier.

"Well.. I just can't stop thinking. About all the things we did. The things we didn't get to do and uh- the future. I can't seem to focus on what's happening right now whenever I get a moments peace. It's almost like as soon as I get the chance to finally relax, my mind doesn't.. let me. I know I'm healing and it'll all get better with time but, right now? I..hate it. I hate that I can't just be healed straight away- Why can't I? And why am I letting myself get so worked up?? I can't let myself do this I need to be able to focus on others.. the rehoming process is still going on and I have to make sure everything's right but because of my stupid head-"

"Lio stop it"

Those words alone were enough to stop Lios sudden rant. Not even realising that once he'd started he almost couldn't stop. It actually made him embarrassed. But Galo didn't seem to think of it like that and instead took Lios face in one of his hands, gaining eye contact so that everything he said felt stronger, and so he knew Lio was listening.

"I may not know much about some things but I do know that none of this is stupid. And I do know your being too hard on yourself.. Your allowed to focus on yourself y'know?..infact isn't that what I've been saying to do?" He takes a deep breath whilst stroking the pad of his thumb over Lios cheek. A smile tugging at his lips when he sees those amethyst eyes starting to shine more as he speaks. His normally loud and boisterous voice now ..softer, just a little more relaxed as he knew it's what Lio needed. "You need to give yourself the time to heal. And I know your just eager to help, we all are! We all want the best for the burnish, we want to help find good good homes for them all and help them get into society easily y'know? But you gotta stop shouldering all the work here firefly.. And you gotta know, none of the things you feel are stupid.. if none of the reasons I get upset are stupid, why are yours any different? If you tell me my little meltdowns aren't something dumb how come you say the same for yourself huh?.."

Lio was a little speechless for a moment. Just taking everything in and letting Galo talk, and as expected it..helped. He felt something in his chest and though he couldn't define it to one emotion, he knew it was a good thing to have woken Galo up and he knew without a doubt this conversation needed to happen for him.

"I don't.. I don't honestly know. I think it's something Kiki said about me feeling..guilty or something and I guess I don't..feel like I deserve to be so upset? Why should I get to be so wrapped up in emotion when I caused some of this-"

"You didn't cause any of this, you know that. It wasn't your fault and your allowed to feel emotions, it's what makes us human! We can't have a burning soul without letting it be a little disturbed sometimes, something might try snuffin out that flame, it might get hard to keep it burning. But, we can do it, and I know we can! We're super strong and no matter the issue our burning souls will always get brighter, because even if they dim for a little while they'll come back like a roaring blaze! Stronger than ever and ready for anything! Even if its hard to rekindle it yourself theres lots of burning souls just like ours, and we've got people ready to add some fuel to our fires if we need it!-.." The Fire fighter realises maybe he went on a little too long with this metaphor, his face flushing , and as much as he sees the fondness on Lios face from it, he decides to simplify it a little. For both Lios sake and his own. "What I'm saying is..let yourself feel, because even if your upset now, even if things are..A lot. Eventually they'll get easier, and in the meantime..you have people around you to help you, you just have to let them help"

God he was such an idiot. Such a sweet, loving..caring idiot with a heart the size of a planet. Lio let out another sigh and as if in response to Galos little words of wisdom, he let himself nuzzle back into the warmth of that bright burning soul (which happened to be located around Galos chest).

"..Thank you..Galo.. It means a lot that you-..Its What I needed to hear. I promise I'll keep it in mind as much as I can..I do want to improve" As if on impulse Lios arms wrap tighter around the chest of the larger man, feeling the sense of ..hope. Finally come back to him for the night.

"It's alright Li, you know I'll do whatever I gotta do to help you. Even if that ends up with me ranting about our burning souls" He offers one of his famous laughs, known to warm the hearts of anyone around him. And as usual this stays true.

"As much as I complain I have to admit..maybe I like hearing you talk about that sometimes" Lio returns a little smug grin from his spot, then snickers under his breath as he watches Galos cheek flush, and a large grin breaks out on his face.

"I knew it! Aina keeps saying I need to stop before i annoy you to death but I knew you liked it!! See that's just what my soul told me-"

"Ok ok I said maybe I like it but don't start overdoing it Thymos. If you do it *too*often Ainas statement might ring true."

"Fine fine, but I'm keeping this as a win.." Galo puffed out his cheeks in response but was quickly melted into a smiley mess once he heard Lios soft laughter again.

"You do that. I won't take it from you"

"Good I should hope not!..So..how are you feeling now huh?"

"Mm..better than before, quite a lot better actually..But I don't think I'll quite be able to sleep yet.. as soon as I get left to myself it gets harder to just stay like this"

"Hmmmm...how about I talk for you?"

"..excuse me?" Lio couldn't at all understand this at first, mostly because for a moment he struggled to think of a time when Galo wasn't talking.

"I mean like, instead of us goin all quiet and trying to sleep..how about if I talk for a bit and uh you can just.. I don't know, focus on my voice?-..Ah shit that's corny isn't it, I just remember seeing it in movies and-"

"..No that-..That might actually help if you wouldn't mind? I mean keep it to light topics and I think it's actually a good idea" Galo having a good idea? Wow what's this new and wonderful world they've ended up in (Kidding, of course. Lio knew Galo made good decisions when it mattered).

"Great! In that case c'mon, let's get cosy and get ready to hear the ever so beautiful rantings of Galo Thymos, firefighter extraordinaire-"

"When am I not ready to hear that?" Lio smirks at the flustered blink he gets before getting cosy just like Galo asked. He shuffled his way up enough to have his head just under Galos and decided to interlock his legs with the other man's too. He then took a moment of thought before tilting his head up, sneaking a hand around the back of Galos head just to pull him in for a surprise kiss. A quick one but one which oozed with his affection and thankfulness. Lio giving him a soft smile once he'd pulled away. It left the poor Fire fighter a little star struck for a few moments , until that is Lio had nestled back into place and he knew to start up his chatting. He didn't exactly have a plan for where to go with this , he just assumed it'd be best to start rambling about something and see where his mind takes him.

"Alright so let's go with something..not to Interesting but something you can still semi focus on.. uhhhh...oh yeah! So, me and Aina were talking the other day about a place Remi mentioned, I wasn't paying much attention when Remi said It I'll be honest. I was kinda busy making a tower out of some sauce packets but..- Aina mentioned I should check it out with you sometime. It's a bowling rink they were gonna redo and open up at like, half price to some folk and free for the burnish, how cools that? It's gonna have lots of bowling lanes and a shitty fun arcade area so you just know I gotta win you somethin'. And I was thinking we could go there on a little date once it's open, play some games maybe bring Meis and Gueira- oh damn that'd be a double date.. And we gotta thrash them at it, totally show our stuff and show we're totally good at bowling even if I think last time I did it I broke something.. not on myself just in the building because apparently you don't throw the balls at the pins-"

This little rant continued for a decent stretch of time, and Lio stayed quietly listening whilst he lay against Galos chest. The silence in his mind not being such an issue when he had Galos warm happy voice filling his head instead. Galo also liked ranting and didn't notice for a little while that Lio had actually fallen asleep. He was just getting into the one time he got his arm stuck in an arcade machine before he glanced down to realise Lio was asleep. His breaths soft and relaxed against his skin as he seemed to...smile whilst he dreamt. Galo smiled in response to this and very gently moved himself, burying his face in Lios hair and making sure the duvet was up around them both before he..very quietly muttered something into Lios locks.

"Night Li..love you"

He knew Lio couldn't hear him. But it was hard not to say how much he loved this man to the world around him. Or even to his now quiet bedroom. He wanted nothing but the best for Lio no questions asked and he would do anything In his power to grant this.Even if that meant talking about bowling alleys for an hour straight, just so he could sleep soundly.

Lio was healing. He knew that and Galo knew that. Galo was healing too. And sometimes the days were hard to get through. But knowing each night they got to come back to eachother, to that familiar warmth and that familiar face. Things really did feel like they'd be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Might end up writing more in the future btw, I've got a couple ideas for Galo since he's my *boy* and I accidentally came up with some angst I haven't seen too many others delve into just yet.. I also just want them being soft and cute y'know?
> 
> If you wanna see some of my weird art or talk at all my Twitter account is @BubblyFurnace ! 
> 
> See ya next time ~


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